WWALS Watershed Coalition advocates for conservation and stewardship of the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, and Suwannee River watersheds in south Georgia and north Florida through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

Jessica and Clay, I want to provide you a quick heads up regarding the
Withlacoochee River crossing.

Taking into consideration stakeholder input from the proposed
Withlacoochee River crossing area and other data obtained to date,
Sabal Trail is initiating evaluation of other potential routes that, IF
feasible, MAY serve to avoid crossing at the proposed location.
As with the original route process, this evaluation will require Sabal
Trail to obtain permission to access the other properties in order to
perform the necessary field surveys (civil, environmental, cultural,
and geotechnical) in order to identify constructability concerns and
the potential impacts to property and environments along the potential
alternatives. Further activities will likely be necessary such as
coring samples etc. prior to any decision being made.

As such, our ROW team has begun forwarding letters to landowners along
these potential route alternatives informing of our plans and seeking
such survey permission. Only after all surveys are complete will Sabal
Trail be able to determine its next steps in determining the viability
of any route changes.

The potential alternatives that Sabal Trail is evaluating commence in
Hamilton County, FL and terminate in Suwannee County, FL to the east of
the currently proposed Sabal Trail pipeline route. These potential
alternatives deviate from the currently proposed route to the south of
State Route 6 in Hamilton County, FL and are roughly 11 miles in
length, follow property lines or existing utility easements to the
extent possible, avoid crossing the Withlacoochee River in Hamilton
County and ultimately cross the Suwannee River roughly 2 – 2 Â½ miles
northeast of the Suwannee / Withlacoochee River intersection.

I will provide more detail and documentation as we develop these
potential alternatives but thought it’s important for you and Rep. Yoho
to be aware of our activity.

Or Hamilton County, or any other affected county,
could go even farther, and pass a real ordinance with power of law,
like Jefferson County, Florida
did to keep Nestlé from coming back to try to take water.

And let’s not forget Sabal Trail’s path
still would cross
the Withlacoochee River in Georgia at the Brooks-Lowndes County line.
And it’s the same karst limestone holding the same Floridan Aquifer that we all drink out of here in south Georgia, just like
in north Florida.